By Lily Bowers

Jason Paul McDowell is a River Pilot working for the Wilmington-Cape Fear Pilots Association in Southport, North Carolina. McDowell says, “Being on the water makes it more than being a regular job. I mean it’s always something different everyday all times of the day and it’s just a great way of life.” River Pilots, in Cape Fear, get on board container ships as soon as the navigable waters begin, and the pilot navigates the ship in and out the harbor to unload its cargo in Wilmington, NC. McDowell says he always wanted to be a River Pilot ever since he was a little fella. It was not until the economy took a down turn, however, that McDowell ended up working back where he grew up in Southport. After graduating from The Citadel, a military college in Charleston, South Carolina, McDowell says he tried to get a job with his Bachelor’s of Science degree, but couldn’t find employment anywhere.

Lucky for him, his degree made him eligible to apply to be a River Pilot. McDowell says, “I turned in a resume not ever thinking it would happen just cause it’s such a hard position to get.” McDowell was accepted into the River Pilot apprentice program, and soon began the 4-year training to become a River Pilot. McDowell says, “There is not a whole lot of industry here and normally everyone has to go away to get a great job just cause there are not that many available, so to have this one and be right here and knowing that I wont have to leave is just wonderful.”

McDowell says the best part of his job is not only having the freedom of working on the water everyday, but also getting to come home at night to his black Labrador Retriever named Cadence.